CNY Jazz sets four cabarets for Sheraton Syracuse University for 17th season

Ruby Washington/The New York TimesMarissa Mulder will perform in honor of what would have been Jimmy Van Heusen's 100th birthday.

The 17th season for CNY Jazz Central will bring its cabaret series back to the Sheraton University ballroom.

The 16-piece Central New York Jazz Orchestra, directed by Bret Zvacek, will bookend the series with performances on Nov. 18 and May 5.

The Nov. 15 show will feature Eastman School graduate Michael Davis, who plays trombone in the Rolling Stones’ touring band, in a tribute to Canadian composer and arranger Rob McConnell. McConnell, a Toronto native and a favorite with CNY Jazz followers, died in May 2010. CNY Jazz executive director Larry Luttinger says he’s been looking for the right tribute to the former leader of the Boss Brass Ensemble since.

The May 5 concert will bring back trumpeter, composer and arranger Michael Philip Mossman to join the CNYJO for the organization’s first Latin jazz dance party. Luttinger says a dance floor will be available for the show.

The other cabaret shows will include the first CNY Jazz performance for singer, songwriter and guitarist KJ Denhert for the annual Black History Month cabaret, on Feb. 10. Denhart has performed worldwide and has had a regular series at The 55 Bar in Manhattan.

Coming back for the second year in a row will be Syracuse native Marissa Mulder. She’ll come up from New York City with a new program of Jimmy Van Heusen songs. The March 10 show will celebrate what would have been the Syracuse native songwriter’s 100th birthday. Van Heusen was born in 1913 as Chester Babcock. Luttinger says members of the Babcock family will attend the concert.

Tickets for the cabaret series are $30 for each show, with discounts available for subscribers and donors. The ballroom seats around 200.

The 2012-13 CNY Jazz season will also i ncludeJazz Vespers concerts on Oct. 28, Jan. 6 and May 19. The 5 p.m. concerts at Pebble Hill Presbyterian Church, 5299 Jamesville Road, DeWitt, will have free admission.

The scholastic jam series will include instrumental jams on Oct. 20 and Jan. 19, and a vocal jam with noted jazz singer Nancy Kelly on April 20. Musicians from the CNY Jazz Orchestra will back the students. Those will run from 3 to 5 p.m. at Jazz Central, 441 E. Washington St., Syracuse, with an admission of $3 for students or $6 for adults. The annual Stars of Tomorrow Cabaret will be at 7 p.m. April 21 at Jazz Central, with an admission charge of $5 for students and $10 for adults.

The Jazz@Sitrus series runs at happy hour on periodic Friday nights at the lounge at the Sheraton Syracuse Univeristy. The free admission shows feature Central New York singers and performers.

“We’re still here,” Luttinger says. “We’re still kicking.”

To help raise money for CNYJazz, the organization is holding for the first time a “two-tickets-to-anywhere” raffle.

Season subscribers and donors of $150 or more will receive one raffle tickets; the general public can buy a ticket for $25. Only 500 tickets will be available. The winner will receive two airline tickets to anywhere in the continental United States they choose from sponsoring BTI The Travel Consultants. Tickets for events and the raffle are available at cnyjazz.org or by calling 479-5299. The winner will be announced at the March 10 cabaret.

“We’re hoping the raffle will help our organization bridge the gap until the economic recovery comes along,” Luttinger says.